"Oh Canada our home and native land" fades into the background as strains of "Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light" resound (resound: to extol loudly or widely; to celebrate).
Mens Elite Top 5
1. Scott Simmons - 2:01:19
2. Eric Carter - 2:04:14
3. Peter Knight - 2:05:12
4. Brad Schalles - 2:06:02
5. Ben Parsons - 2:08:18
Womens Elite Top 3
1. Martha Burley - 2:47:41
2. Michelle Roberts - 3:08:03
3. Karen McCirdy - 3:22:05
Maybe it was the noon-time start from the top of the mountain.... No 7am, below zero, bone-chilling cold to deal with. The gondola took us up 4,000' to the summit of Kicking Horse Mountain. The race was a Le-Mans style-start; skis in hand we proceeded to run around the summit lodge. Brad Schalles took the hole shot. He was running like he'd stolen something and quickly got a big gap on me. I was able to catch him on the downhill. At the first transition racers showed up one right after the other. It felt like racing in Europe. The first climb was short and I settled in behind Brad and Peter Knight. There was a fair amount of trailbreaking so I was thrilled to give them the lead. Eric Carter caught us at the top and helped create another crowded transition area. The 4 of us skied down and began a climb that included Ben Parsons and Stano. I took the lead on the longest downhill of the day only to have a "wicked" (my wife's New England influence) slow transition that dropped me into 5th place. A month off (not recommended) from racing had left me very rusty. I was able to move into 2nd behind Eric on a slick track through the trees. Once we came to a groomer I upped the speed and took the lead. This seemed like a good idea until the next section which was off the groomer. The skintrack had disappeared due to the heavy snow/wind. As the race continued I was able to maintain a couple minute gap over Peter and Eric to finish in 1st.
My Tailwind endurance mix propelled me through the entire race and tasted great along the way.
The crazies were out.
(all photo credits to Malcolm Taylor)
1. Scott Simmons - 2:01:19
2. Eric Carter - 2:04:14
3. Peter Knight - 2:05:12
4. Brad Schalles - 2:06:02
5. Ben Parsons - 2:08:18
Womens Elite Top 3
1. Martha Burley - 2:47:41
2. Michelle Roberts - 3:08:03
3. Karen McCirdy - 3:22:05
My Tailwind endurance mix propelled me through the entire race and tasted great along the way.
The crazies were out.
(all photo credits to Malcolm Taylor)
Climbin'
Leading the Canadians up a bootpack.
Below is an excerpt from Eric's blog. I especially like the reference to my steps up the bootpack. I was in the lead and purposely took large steps to make it more challenging for racers coming behind.
On the big descent to the low point I was leading but got passed by Scott flying on fast skis. My best transition ever put me into the lead for the beginning of the third climb up slippery switchbacks. Halfway up, we came out of the woods onto a steep groomer and Scott put the hammer down while Peter and I ate and took a drink. Scott had a big gap and I managed to eat into it a little but he was moving fast. Even breaking trail on the upper section of the climb he was keeping ahead. We came to the bootpack up CPR ridge and he was plowing a trail with the BIGGEST steps I have seen and I struggled to keep up. Scott and I postholed along the ridge to the start/finish area while Peter and Brad made the right call and put skis back on.
Brad Schalles~Canadian National Team
Peter Knight ~ Canadian National Team
Scarpa/Trab on the podium.
(photo credit Steve Sellers)
The tweets have been very entertaining;
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